Sennit of polygonal cross-section



C. W. ASHLEY;

SENNIT 0F POLYGONAL GROSS SECTION. APPLICATION FILED JAN, 14', 1919.

1,361,803 Patented Dec. 14, 1920.

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CLIFFORD W. ASHLEY, F WILMINGTON, DELAWARE.

SENNIT 0F POLYGONAL CROSS-SECTION.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 14, 1920.

Application filed January 14, 1919. Serial No. 271,020.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CLIFFORD W. AsHLnY, a citizen of the United States, residing at WVilmington, county of New Castle, State of Delaware, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Sennits of Polygo nal Gross-Sections, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to sennit or cordage plaited from a plurality of strands and more particularly to sennits of which the cross section is polygonal instead of circular or other curved contour.

My invention not only includes sennits having a variety of novel polygonal sections but also a novel method of making such sennits.

By my. improved method I am able not only to make a new four-sidedsennit (i. 6.,

1 sennit of rectangular section) although,

broadly speaking, a four-sided sennit per 86 is old, but I am also able to make a sennit whose section is a triangle, a pentagon, a hexagon, or, in fact, any polygon regardless of the number of sides.

. In the product turned out by my improved method, the several sides of any given type of sennit will be of uniform dimension, 2'. 6., the sides of a cross section will have the same breadth.

cross section they are vary attractive in appearance and may be used to advantage in many arts to secure ornamental effects. This is especially the" case if the strands from which the sennits are plaited aresuitably '1 40 and differently colored.

Perhaps the most lmportant of the several sennits of my invention is the one whose sectionis an equilateral triangle. So far as I know, such a triangularlysectioned sennit is absolutely unique in the art. It may be used to great advantage mechanically in rope drives since, thereby, two-thirds of the area of the sennit may-be brought into frictional engagement with the cooperating pulleysinstead of something less than onehalf of the area, as in the case of a circular sennit.

My invention will be better'understood by referring to the accompanying drawings which are directed to a nine-strand sennit whose section is an equilateral triangle,this

being a referred embodiment. Of these figures, igure 1 represents a perspective view of the strands after they have been fastened together at one end but before any actual plaiting has been done; Fig. 2 is a plan view, taken from above of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 represents a view of the sennit taken edge (or corner) on, 6., from'squarely in front of an apex of the section; Fig. 4 represents another view of the sennit taken from the side; and Fig. 5 represents a cross section through the completed sennit.

To make the sennit, I first fasten all the strands together at one end in any convenient way. As represented, they are shown as ending in a spool and separated by definite spaces, but this has been done merely to avoid confusion in description and to make the portions of the strands which are to be manipulated stand out clearly. In practice, the ends need only be bound or held together in any convenient way, 6. 9., as shown in Figs. 3 and 4.

Three strands, 1, 2, 3, which may be desig nated as side strands, are drawn out upwardly (Fig. 1). The remaining strands are divided into three groups of two strands each, viz., the A, the B, and the C groups (A, a; B, b; and C, c) these may be called -corner strands. The corner strand groups are drawn downwardly over the edge of the spool, being separated from one anotherby the side strands. The whole may then be grasped in the palm of the left hand with the side strands, 1, 2, 3, passing up and draping over the forefinger while the corner strands, A, a, B, b, and C, 0, pass out at the bottom of the hand.

F z'rst half-cycZa-Facing side strand 1, pass it over corner strands C, 0 next adjacent on its left and then down into the palm; grasp corner strands C, 0 and draw them straight up so as to drape over the forefinger with side strands 2 and 3.

N ow rotate the whole in the palm so as to face side strand 2 (clockwise); cross this strand over corner strands A, a at its left and then down into the palm; then raise corner strands A, a and drape over theforegain rotate the whole clockwise so as to face side strand 3, pass it to the left over corner strands B, b and raise these corner strands and throw them over the forefinger.

This completes the first half-cycle. The three side strands will now all pass-downi .then .pass corner strand A at its left, to the right, across the side strand and into the palm where it will lie side of corner strand 6, then raise and extend side strand 3, and finallydrop corner strand a into the palm.

Again rotate the whole until facing (the new position of) side strand '2, then pass corner strand Cat its left, to the right, across the side strand and into the palm where it will lie side of corner strand a,-then raise and extend side strand 2, and finally drop corner strand 0 into the alm where it will lie side of corner strand This completes the second half-cycle and brings the strands back into the original starting position withthe three side strands extending upwardly and the corner strands in three downwardly extended groups. The

specific strands, as numbered in the figures, will not,'however, occupy the same relative positions but will be changed about, although, disregarding the numbering, the positions of side strands and corner strands will remain relatively unchanged.

The entire operation (first and second half-cycles) as above described, may now be repeated'indefinitely until-the desired length "of sennithas been secured.

After the first cycle'has been completed,

it will be found that, at the beginning of side strand while theupper strand is to be dropped straight down mtothe palm.

ln describing theplaitin as above, the

procedure has been minute y specified in order that the unpractised may have no-ex- 'cuse for'error. In practice, it will be found immaterial whether the incho'ate structure be revolved clockwise or counterclockwise in performing the operations of the first half-cycle and the same will-be true as to the second half-cycle. The order of proceeding will also be immaterial; i. e., in the first half-cycle,"any side strand may be the first to be'chosen'to pass over the corner strands at the left and then either the side'strand to theone side or the other may bec'hosen as-"the next to be manipulated. And, when the first half-cycle is completed, any pair of corner strands may be chosen as the first to operate upon and after'the one has been laid to the right, the side strand raised, and the remaining corner strand dropped into the palm, the next and second pair of corner strands to be manipulated may be either the pair to the one side or the other.

It will be noted that, in the finished sennit, the three pair of corner strands lie above one another in the same relative order as that of'their adjacency when the manipulations of the first half-cycle are gone through with and that this order is maintained throughout the entire sennit. It should also be noted that the side strands lie similarly one above the other but that their direction is transverse to thatof the corner strands which are individually crossed by the side strands in the middle of each side.

I ma'ygive my improvedysennit a quad- V rangular, pentagonal, hexagonal or any other desired regular polygonal section by merely adding a pairofcorner strands and a side strand for each additional side "desired and following exactly the same rule o'f'construction as has beenabove' set forth.

Many interesting variants of the above referred to sennits may" readily I be produced with-in the spiritof'the invention. Thus in that the newly added strand will alwaysbe kept alongside the last to be manipulated of its associated corner strands 6., alongside the corner strand which is to be dropped in-the palm in the second half-cycle) and manipulatedwith it. The characteristics of this sennit will be exactly the same *asthose of the nine strand sennit except that there will now be three'sets of three, instead of three sets 'of tw'o, corner strands arranged one above the other and running continuously around the sennit in'the same direction throughout its leng'th.

Similarly, the number of side 'strands may be increased. Thus I may make: a triangular sectioned sennit with nine corner strands (three'isets Zof'three-each) instead of six (three "sets lof two each) 'as illustrated, and

"six side strands (three sets of: two each) instead of three --(three sets of one each). "In

such case, Imanipulate and treat each set of side strands as a single strand.

If'desired, a core may be used to increase the diameter'or cross-section of any of the above referred to sennits; it will be understood however, that the core contributes nothing to'the strncture other-than a filling and that it is in no way necessary tothe actual plaiting-of the sennit or in the determination of its cross-sectional form. 7 Having described my invention, I claim:

1. A sennit of polygonal cross-section and devoid of a form defining core comprising side strands and corner strands, the corner strands and side strands being at right angles to one another and the side strands crossing the corner strands in the middle of each side, said sennit depending for its cross-sectional form entirely upon the correlation of the strands without the assistance of a core or the like.

2. The method of making a sennit of polygonal cross-section and devoid of a form defining core which comprises arranging a plurality of strands in three or more similarly disposed groups, each group consisting of at least one side strand and of at least two corner strands, extending the side strands upwardly and extending the corner strands downwardly, passing successively each side strand group over the adjacent corner strand group at its left and dropping said side strand group downwardly and then extending the corner strand group upwardly, then passing successively the nearer strand of each corner strand group over the side strand group at its right and dropping it downwardly, then extending the side strand group upwardly and dropping the remaining one general direction and side strands which pass spirally in the opposite direction and lie beneath said corner strands at said apices and above the same at the faces of said sennit, the correlation of the strands alone determining the cross-sectional form of the sennit.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

CLIFFORD W. ASHLEY. 

